England pacer James Anderson etched his name in the history books as he became just the third bowler in the history of Test crcket to grab 700 wickets. He has also become the first fast bowler in 147 years to take these many wickets. England Cricket celebrated the landmark by writing on X (formerly Twitter): “We are so lucky to be witnessing utter greatness. An unfathomable achievement built of unrivalled skill, longevity and absolute dedication. Congratulations.”
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Praise started to pour in for the 41-year-old wicket-taking machines which ceases to stop. Cricket writer Jarrod Kimber wrote on his social media account that when Anderson debuted for England in Tests in May 2003, MySpace had not been launched, adding that his Test career is older than social media. Today, the same pacer is being hailed on the internet.
Arjun Tendulkar, Sachin Tendulkar’s son who plays Ranji Trophy for Goa and IPL for Mumbai Indians, was watching the game in a hotel room and posted a photo of the TV screen as he watched the feat live. Arjun wrote ‘The Goat’ to send his respect to Anderson.
His father, the great Sachin Tendulkar, is better with words so he decided to write a longer post for Anderson over his social media. Tendulkar hailed Anderson’s achievement as ‘simple magnificent’. Tendulkar said that when he first saw Anderson in action in 2002, he was impressed by his control over the ball.
“The first time I saw Anderson play was in Australia in 2002, and his control over the ball looked special. Nasser Hussain spoke very highly of him back then and today, I am sure, he would say, “Maine bola tha” — that he had called it so early. 700 test wickets is a stellar achievement. A fast bowler playing for 22 years and performing so consistently to be able to take 700 wickets would have sounded like fiction until Anderson actually made it happen. Simply magnificent,” wrote Tendulkar.
Check all key reactions here:
The first time I saw Anderson play was in Australia in 2002, and his control over the ball looked special.
Nasser Hussain spoke very highly of him back then and today, I am sure, he would say, “Maine bola tha” – that he had called it so early. _
700 test wickets is a stellar_ pic.twitter.com/GijfRXYvoY
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 9, 2024
700. _
Muttiah Muralitharan. Shane Warne.
And now James Anderson.
Congratulations to an icon of cricket.#BBCCricket #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/DOmkIqkG1z
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) March 9, 2024
700. _
Muttiah Muralitharan. Shane Warne.
And now James Anderson.
Congratulations to an icon of cricket.#BBCCricket #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/DOmkIqkG1z
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) March 9, 2024
Jimmy Anderson scales Mount 700. Incredible landmark for a fast bowler that may never be surpassed. Not just this record and his remarkable fantastuc skills, the longevity of his career is also truly remarkable
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) March 9, 2024
700 Test Wickets for Anderson
What an achievement. What a player.pic.twitter.com/cPfZYEhair
— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) March 9, 2024
Anderson’s parents were also in the stands at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala to watch their won take the historic wicket. His father had watched him take his first Test wicket as well. It was a special moment for the Anderson family to watch their son write history.
England bowled out India for 477 in the first innings. Shoaib Bashir took a five-for too. England however, were in a spotof bother at the time of writing of this article as they were three down under 50 runs in the 2nd innings with deficit still over 200.
